as in mainly
for the most part
our video collection consists chiefly of comedies, but we have a few horror movies
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Recent Examples of chiefly
This unusual chemical process is confined chiefly around the comet's head, not its tail.
—
Joe Rao, Space.com, 8 Sep. 2025
This level of intimacy is chiefly reserved for romantic partners and spouses — partnerships where sharing finances is essential to the relationship.
—Essence, 5 Sep. 2025
The specialty retailer’s chief financial officer, Robert Ball, said Abercrombie has seen about $5 million in adverse impact from tariffs during the second quarter, chiefly manifested in the cost of sales, and expects $90 million net impact from tariffs for the year.
—Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 4 Sep. 2025
The Iranian contribution was leveraging the R&D from elsewhere in Iran’s area of operations—chiefly Lebanon—and multiplying the Iraqis’ lethality.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for chiefly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chiefly
Adverb
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The 5-star analyst mainly noted lucrative prospects in agentic security for CrowdStrike and the evolution of its agentic security operations center (SOC).—
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For 70 years, three families — the Joneses, the Hoppers, and the Creagers — battled for influence, mainly to score the coveted county jobs locals depended on for income, regularly accusing one another of corruption and election rigging.—
Adverb
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When competitors finally saw that Venture Global was legit, Sabel said, the company had three projects underway in Calcasieu Pass, Plaquemines—which is mostly online today—and CP2.—
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Black ritual salt is not safe to eat and is mostly used in witchcraft and spiritual practices to protect against negative energy.—
Adverb
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Listeria monocytogenes, or Lm, is a bacterium that causes listeriosis, a serious infection that primarily affects older adults, individuals with weakened immune systems, pregnant women and their newborns.—
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However, the project’s current strengths are primarily systems integration and ambition.—
Adverb
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However, accessibility largely depends on policy, and tuition typically ranges from $5,000 to $10,000 a year.—
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It’s largely set on the gloomy campus of Stoneridge College, and brings Moreno-Garcia’s signature horror skills to the dark academia genre.—
Adverb
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However, surging production, led principally by Chinese mining companies, had cratered the price to a nine-year low, leading the DRC to impose the restrictions and in turn drawing ire from producers.—
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By drawing his understanding of the king principally from Harvey’s travelogue, and likely a string of others produced in the English-speaking world, Welles ended up making his career promoting what was merely another caricature of an actual person, a historical figure, and an important one at that.—
Adverb
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In 1977, a neo-Nazi group called the National Socialist Party of America applied for a permit to march through Skokie, Illinois, a predominantly Jewish, Chicago suburb.—
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The blue jay/green jay hybrid, a male offspring of a green jay mother and a blue jay father, has predominantly blue feathers, but exhibits black coloring on its face, similar to that of a green jay.—
Cite this Entry
“Chiefly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chiefly. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.
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